Order of object pronouns
When a verb has two object pronouns, they follow a fixed order before the verb.
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| me, te, se, nous, vous | le, la, les | lui, leur | y | en |
Examples of combinations
- Il me le donne. (he gives it to me)
- Je le lui explique. (I explain it to him / her)
- Je les leur envoie. (I send them to them)
- Il y en a. (there are some)
- Tu m’en donnes ? (will you give me some?)
Positive imperative
After the verb, with hyphens: direct before indirect, and me / te become moi / toi: Donne-le-moi ! Dis-le-lui ! Donne-m’en !
Examples
- Tu as les clés ? — Oui, je te les donne.Do you have the keys? — Yes, I’ll give them to you.
- Le cadeau ? Je le lui ai offert hier.The present? I gave it to her yesterday.
- Des problèmes ? Il n’y en a pas.Problems? There aren’t any.
- Envoie-la-moi, s’il te plaît.Send it to me, please.
- Je te le montre demain.I’ll show it to you tomorrow.
Common mistakes
- ✗ Il donne me le.✓ Il me le donne.Both pronouns go before the verb, with me before le, unlike in English gives it to me.
- ✗ Je lui le dis.✓ Je le lui dis.Le, la and les come before lui and leur, a fixed order that English give it to him does not follow.
- ✗ Tu en me donnes ?✓ Tu m’en donnes ?En always comes last in a series of pronouns, a fixed order that English does not have.
- ✗ Donne moi-le !✓ Donne-le-moi !In a positive command the direct pronoun comes first and moi follows it.
- ✗ Il y a en.✓ Il y en a.Y comes before en, and both go before the verb.